Trump's Presser Evokes Classic Sports Rants

Donald Trump's press conference Thursday was so unprecedented that even Fox News referred to it as "absolutely crazy" and Festivus became a trending topic on Twitter because of how the president was airing grievances. Sports reporters are used to covering pressers with unexpected responses that turn into classic moments, so Trump's performance provides a great reason to trot these out for an encore performance:

Dennis Green

Green was coaching the Cardinals in 2006, and after a loss to Chicago on Monday Night Football that dropped Arizona to 1-4, he immortalized the line, "The Bears were what we thought they were."

Bob Knight

During an NCAA tournament in the early 90s, the Indiana coach was puzzled and annoyed with the concept of a "game face."

Mike Ditka

During a postgame media scrum while he was Bears coach in the 80s, a heckler managed to crash the scene, and Da Coach responded.

Mike Gundy

The Oklahoma State coach disagreed with the premise of a column in the Oklahoman newspaper regarding quarterback Bobby Reid and punctuated his rant with the line, "I'm a man! I'm 40!"

Tommy Lasorda

After a 1978 game in which Dave Kingman of the Cubs hit three home runs against the Dodgers, KLAC radio reporter Paul Olden asked Lasorda, "What's your opinion of Kingman's performance?" Before you click the video below for Lasorda's response, beware this is the unbleeped, NSFW version.

Anderson was the Cardinals quarterback when they suffered a blowout loss at home to the 49ers on Monday Night Football in 2010. Late in the game with Arizona trailing by 18, ESPN cameras showed Anderson and guard Deuce Lutui laughing on the sidelines. Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic asked Anderson if he could put that scene into context. Anderson didn't appreciate the question.

John Tortorella

As coach of the Rangers, Tortorella sparred with Larry Brooks of the New York Post on more than one occasion, but this exchange after a game in January 2010 might be the most memorable.

Jim Mora (Saints)

After a 19-7 defeat to Carolina on October 20, 1996, the Saints coach used the term "diddly poo" to describe in his team's performance. New Orleans fell to 2-6 with the loss, and Mora resigned the next day.

Jim Mora (Colts)

Indianapolis dropped to 4-6 after a loss to the 49ers on November 25, 2001. Tim Bragg of WRTV asked Mora about the team's chances to make the playoffs. Let's say it all together now: "Playoffs?!?"

Allen Iverson

Iverson's press conference shortly after the 2002 season was supposed to be about the team's decision to not trade him. But when some of the questions echoed coach Larry Brown's frustrations with his practice habits, Iverson delivered an epic response. (For greater context, check out this ESPN story.)

The Jets were 2-5 in 2002 after a loss to the Browns. A few days later at the usual mid-week press conference with Edwards, Judy Battista of the New York Times asked the coach about his team not giving up on the season. And that's how "You play to win the game!" became an instant classic.

Bill Belichick

This wasn't really a rant, but the Patriots coach earns a spot here for making the phrase "on to Cincinnati" part of the sports lexicon. New England was coming off a 41-14 loss at Kansas City in Week 4 of the 2014 season, and there were some stories about how the blowout signaled the end of the Patriots' dynasty. Belichick preferred to look ahead, and the Patriots went on to beat the Bengals and win the Super Bowl that season.

The Cubs started 5-14 in 1983, and after a loss to the Dodgers, Elia told certain Wrigley Field fans that they ought to get a job. Les Grobstein of WLS radio captured the audio on expletive-laden rant.

Bryan Price

The Reds manager might have set a record with 77 variantions of the F-bomb in 5 1/2 minutes early in 2015. Price was upset that Cincinnati Enquirer reporter C. Trent Rosecrans had written a story about how catcher Devin Mesoraco, who was coming back from an injury, wasn't with the team during a loss to the Cardinals. Mesoraco wasn't cleared to play the field, but Price had indicated he might be able to pinch-hit. When there was a situation in the game that seemed favorable for Mesoraco to get an at-bat, Price didn't consider it -- because the player wasn't at the ballpark.

Hal McRae

The Royals got off to a rough start in 1993, which might explain why McRae, the Kansas City manager, was working with a short fuse. After a 5-3 loss to the Tigers, John Doolittle of KMBZ radio asked McRae why he didn't use George Brett as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. That's when McRae cleared the room.

John Chaney/John Calipari

This 1994 confrontation is different than others because it is coach against coach. UMass beat Chaney's team from Temple 56-55, but apparently Calipari still had a problem with the officiating. During Calipari's press conference, Chaney interrupted from the back of the room, as reported in the New York Times: "Could I say this to you, please? You've got a good ball club. But what you did with the officials out there is wrong, and I don't want to be a party to that. You understand?" Then suddenly Chaney was no longer in the back of the room anymore.